The Uchiha Next Door
by SunnyMagicKingdom
Summary: Sakura Haruno was a 20 years old college student who wasn't sure what was the missing puzzle in her seemingly perfect life. An encounter with Sasuke Uchiha at a party definitely wasn't what she thought she needed. Sakura's college days became a journey of self-discovery and the start of a truly unexpected love story with a raven-haired man who suddenly became her neighbor. (AU)
1. The Boy Next Door

Author's Note: Hello, dear readers! I know it's been a long time since the last update from me and I am really sorry about that! College has been crazy and I am actually currently in the middle of my finals. I know I still have lots of uncompleted stories but don't worry, I will try my best to complete them. I really appreciate the continuous support and love from everyone, thank you so much!

This story is really special because it is actually inspired from my personal life story. A lot has happened for the past few months and I have learned a lot from my experiences. But most importantly, I have met a wonderful man whom I truly love and from whom I have learned a lot from. I wouldn't say everything is perfect but he is definitely one of the best people I have ever met in my life. Hence, I have decided to start this story as a way of expressing myself and will truly be delighted if everyone enjoys reading it. So, here goes!

Chapter 1: The Boy Next Door

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"How does it feel like to be in love?"

Truth be told, I don't have an answer to that question. Even though I had several boyfriends in the past, this remains a question I didn't know how to respond to. I definitely liked my ex-boyfriends but the word 'love' seemed far off for some reason. I wasn't sure myself why it felt that way but it did.

"Why do you want to know, Hinata?" I was sitting on a bench in one of the parks of our college with Hinata when the dreadful question was brought up. I had some time before a lecture and happened to see Hinata alone with a weird expression on her face. I figured something was wrong and decided to approach her. I only met Hinata last year when I first entered college and we were in different departments so I wouldn't say I know her very well.

But then again, Hinata was very easy to read and judging from the look on her face and the question she asked, I sort of knew what was going on.

"N-Nothing. Just curious and I figured you would know." Hinata's face was burning red as she tried to avoid eye contact with me. I simply stared into a distance as I thought of what to say.

It had always been this way. People around me assumed I was 'experienced' in life and knew a thing or two more than them. The thing was, I did always have an answer to their questions, whether it was about love, friendship or simply life in general. But honestly, I wasn't sure if the one talking was really me or simply my skill in coming up with things and sounding smart at the same time.

And being the proud person I was, I wouldn't admit I didn't know and would always try to reach other people's expectation of me.

"I guess being in love is something you'll truly understand when you experience it, Hinata. Even the smallest things can be a sign that you're in love, like the crazy heartbeat you get when you're with the man you love or the constant want of being with him. It's the little things that make love feel real."

Sometimes, I wasn't sure if I should be proud of how eloquent I was or disappointed of how fake I actually was.

I sneaked a peek at Hinata and saw her eyes shining as if she had just solved a huge mystery. And it just made me feel worse. Hinata suddenly took hold of my hands and gave me the most sincere smile I had ever seen from her.

"Thank you so much, Sakura! I know I can always count on you." Hinata's heartfelt words made my heart ache. Her true feelings simply reminded me of how empty my words were. I felt like a liar who pretended to feel things she never had.

I couldn't say another word and forced a smile as I watched Hinata leave for her class. Once she was out of sight, I sighed in my seat and stared at the blue skies above me as I absorbed myself in my own thoughts.

I was Sakura Haruno, a second year medical student at the University of Konoha. Everyone I met always saw me as this perfect lady who shouldn't have anything to worry about in life. My grades were top of the class, I have gorgeous looks with unique long pink hair and I have many great friends as well. Like people often said, what could go wrong?

But it was the perfection itself that made everything feel wrong. Even with my grades, my looks and my friends, I could still evidently feel the missing part of my life. And the reason why I bothered me so much these days was because I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Maybe I should fall in love?"

"What did you say, forehead?"

I jumped a little in my seat when I heard an all too familiar voice from behind me. I internally cursed at myself for speaking out what was on my mind and secretly hoped Ino didn't hear what I said.

"Nothing." I managed to calm myself down as I turned to Ino who was standing behind me. I had known Ino for almost 10 years because she was my neighbor when my family moved to Tokyo. I never hesitated to say that she was my best friend despite the fact that she always annoyed me. But I had yet to talk to her about my issues and all that because I just wasn't sure how to bring it up. Ino was a great best friend but it could be difficult to make her understand things sometimes.

"Whatever. Anyways, I came by to remind you about the party at the boy's place tonight!" Ino would always end up in her own world when it was about parties. I like parties as well in a way but lately, socializing could be exhausting. But then again, I couldn't think of a good excuse to escape from it.

"Naruto and Kiba just threw a party last week and they're doing another one tonight?" I rolled my eyes at the thought of the chaos caused last week. Naruto and Kiba lived together and were both crazy about parties. Naruto was considered as a close friend of mine whom I met back in middle school and we were still in contact even after he transferred to another high school. And being a good friend I was, I always reminded him to cut down the amount of alcohol he took in every week.

Ino completely ignored the fact that I wasn't enthusiastic about the party and ran off when she spotted Shikamaru Nara. My best friend just couldn't get her hands off the genius who was also her childhood friend. Ino could be crazy most of the time and looked like she could never be serious, but her feelings for Shikamaru were definitely real.

And sometimes I wished I knew how that would feel.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"I don't want to go."

"Come on, teme! It will be fun! You need to loosen up a little."

I was on my way to class when Naruto came running to me like an overexcited child. I had known Naruto since high school and he was one of my closest friends so I knew what he wanted to say even before he opened that loud mouth of his.

"The party will be fun and there will be a lot of really cute girls!" Naruto was literally clinging onto me and I hated to admit it but he was strong enough to make it difficult to shove him away.

"I am not interested." I emphasized each word clearly to make a point but it definitely didn't help me get rid of Naruto.

"Come on, Sasuke! Please. Be a normal college student for once!" Naruto's voice and constant yelling were giving me a headache and I had no choice but to agree to it if I wanted him to get off me.

"Fine. Just let go of me, will you?" I sighed as I watched Naruto did some sort of weird victory dance. I was tempted to just not go tonight but I knew Naruto would do anything to make sure I would be there. I managed to escape last week but he wouldn't let his guard down this time.

After Naruto calmed down, we could finally be on our way to the lecture. Naruto and I were both second year students in the department of business. Naruto obviously didn't give a damn about his academics but surprisingly, he still went to class once in a while. Although he was asleep most of the time so it didn't make much difference whether he attended class or not.

"Have you found a new place to stay in?" Naruto asked as we walked pass the never ending hallways.

"I found one. I will move in tomorrow morning." I have decided to move out from my house and was glad to find a nice place near campus. Nothing really bad happened back at home but I have always wanted to live somewhere closer to campus. But most importantly, I would want to give myself some time alone and figure out what I wanted out of my life. Long story short, I just wanted to make my own decisions without too much interference from my family.

"Sweet! Can we hold a home warming party?"

"Stay away from it, dobe."

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

 _"This is giving me a headache."_

I was at the party which turned out to be louder than I liked it to be. Ino was nowhere to be seen and Naruto was too drunk for me to approach. I wanted to hang out with Tenten but she was too busy with a certain Hyuuga prodigy. As for Hinata, she probably already passed out.

Naruto and Kiba, being the rich kids they were, lived in a house bigger than necessary. And that was also why I didn't bother going around to look for my friends.

Having enough of the noise and craziness, I decided to go out for some fresh air. I walk into the balcony but was about to leave when I saw that it was occupied. But I stopped on my tracks when I saw who it was.

It was Sasuke Uchiha.

He was standing by the balcony with a bottle of beer in his hand and looking aimlessly at the skies. I heard a lot about him, mainly from Naruto, but never exactly had the chance to talk to him. He had the looks, the brains and the charisma as well. There was just something about him that was so alluring.

I felt myself blushing as I stared at his broad shoulders and mentally slapped myself as I walked away. But my flustered self had stupidly knocked my leg onto a chair, making my presence clear to Sasuke.

He turned around just in time to see me wincing in pain and cursing under my breath.

 _"Great job, Sakura. You made a fool out of yourself in front of one of the hottest men in campus."_

"Are you alright?" Sasuke's deep voice was sexier than I thought and I found myself feeling flustered all over again. But I was determined not to embarrass myself any further and managed to calm down.

"I'm alright." I was glad that at least my voice didn't sound weird or anything. "So, what are you doing out here?"

There was a short moment of silence and I panicked a little thinking that he found me weird for starting a conversation. Technically, we didn't know each other but we have mutual friends so one way or another it shouldn't be weird for me to initiate a conversation with him, right?

"It's too noisy inside." I was sort of relieved when Sasuke responded but I felt stupid being nervous around him. Maybe it had something to do with his really attractive dark eyes or perhaps it was just that intimidating aura of his.

 _"Act cool, Sakura! Don't leave a horrible first impression!"_

"Why are you out here yourself?" I didn't expect Sasuke to continue the conversation and there was a part of me that was excited for some reason. But I constantly reminded myself to not act or sound stupid.

"I needed some fresh air." I found myself walking towards the balcony and stood beside Sasuke. I also had a bottle of beer in my hand and drank some in hopes it would calm my nerves down. I wasn't sure what I was doing but there was just something about Sasuke that made me want to get to know him more.

And since he had yet to ask me to go away, I assumed he didn't mind my company.

"I guess you're not into partying?" I stared into the dark skies as well and tried to spot the stars. It was definitely a good idea to step outside, away from the crowds.

"Hn. Naruto forced me into coming."

I laughed at the mention of the blonde's name. I could just imagine him latching onto Sasuke and begging him to come.

"That sounds just like something Naruto would do." My casual comment on Naruto earned a small laugh from Sasuke.

The conversation picked up from there and we spent some time talking about Naruto, mainly on how annoying he could be. I told Sasuke how Naruto acted back in middle school and told him some of the most stupid things he had done which got him into trouble. I did most of the talking between the two of us but I knew Sasuke wasn't the type to speak much in the first place.

"Naruto could get to my nerves at times, but I must admit he is a great person." I was sincere when I said that because I knew Naruto was a truly wonderful friend. He might be annoying but he was the kind of friend who would be there for you when you needed him. I remembered the time when I broke up back in middle school and Naruto came running to me with ice-cream and chocolates. He was as loud as always and was messed up from all the running, but I could never forget how grateful I felt at that very moment.

"Hn. I heard from Naruto you're a great person as well. He talks a lot about you."

I wasn't sure if it was an effect from the alcohol but my recent thoughts regarding myself came rushing once I heard what Sasuke said. I just didn't feel like I was as great as I thought I was. I knew my life seemed 'perfect' in the eyes of many, but at the end of the day, I just couldn't feel proud of my achievements anymore.

"I'm not that great." I was surprised at my own words but a part of me didn't want to stop. The negativity was killing me and I had to get it out. "I don't know what's wrong with me these days. Most parts of my life is as great as usual but it doesn't feel right anymore. It's the haunting feeling that even perfection couldn't make me feel happy. It's like, I just can't feel good about myself."

The alcohol definitely played a role in making me speak my mind out to a person I didn't even know well. I told Sasuke the things that had been going on in my mind, about how I felt like something was missing and how I wasn't proud of who I was. I just went on and on, pouring out whatever came across my mind.

"Sorry, I know I'm not making much sense." I finally calmed down and managed to shut my mouth. I felt my ears burning from embarrassment because I said more things than I had intended to.

"I understand."

It just took two words to stop me from wanting to dig a hole and hide. I wasn't sure if Sasuke was just being nice or he truly understood my nonsense. I stared at him as he looked into the darkness with an unreadable expression on his beautiful and defined face.

"It's alright to feel lost. It simply means you have yet to find what you truly want out of your life."

Having someone telling me that it was alright was something I didn't know I needed at that time. Sasuke wasn't a man of many words but there was a feeling behind his words which made me trust him. I could see there were many stories behind his mysterious eyes and I was tempted to find out more about him.

However, there was something about the silence between us that calms me down from my recent confusing thoughts. At that moment, I knew I was attracted to Sasuke for reasons I had yet to know.

"You'll eventually find out what's missing."

It was those reassuring words that made me believe that things would be alright after all.

It was also those words that made me further believe that I was drawn into Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

She was interesting.

I was never into the idea of getting into conversations with people. I didn't even talk that often to my closest friends. But there was something about her that made me stay and listen.

There was so many stories and emotions behind her green eyes which lured me into being curious about her. Something weirder than that was the fact that I felt comfortable being around her.

There was just a nice feeling which I couldn't seem to explain.

As I drove back to my house to do some final packing for the move the next day, I found myself smiling back at the time I spent with Sakura at the balcony.

"This is ridiculous."

The unexplained feelings definitely felt weird but I was intrigued at the same time.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

Living alone in my apartment felt the best during the weekends. I would often make breakfast as I danced to some music on a Saturday morning before deciding what to do for the rest of the day. Most of the time I would just do some studying or go find Ino to do some shopping. A part of me was still regretting for not asking for Sasuke's number last night. But then again, I was very sure I wouldn't have the guts to actually ask him out.

I still had yet to make up my mind on what to do for the day when the doorbell suddenly rang.

I quickly finished the rest of the dishes and dried my hand with a nearby towel as I made my way to the door, wondering who could it be on a Saturday morning.

My breath was completely taken away from me when I saw who was on the other side of the door. Standing in front of me was the very man whom was on my mind few seconds ago.

The man whom I wanted to see again.

"Sasuke?"

* * *

Author's Note: That's chapter 1, everyone! I really hope you guys liked it. I am looking forward to know your thoughts so please drop a review on your way out! And don't forget to click follow and favorite as well. I promise I will try my best to update as soon as possible. Thank you for reading and see you again!


	2. The Request Next Door

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the support, everyone! I truly appreciate it. It is great readers such as you guys who makes me really enthusiastic in writing. I am looking forward to read more reviews from the others!

Chapter 2: The Request Next Door

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

As cliche as it sounded, I couldn't get the word 'fate' out of my mind from the moment I laid eyes on Sasuke who was as surprised as I was.

For someone as expressionless as Sasuke Uchiha, it was rather interesting to see how confused and shocked he was when he found out the most unexpected thing ever.

"We're neighbors." I stated matter-of-factly, as if I was trying to reassure that I wasn't imagining things. Sasuke was silent, as always, before smirking in amusement. It took a lot of effort for me not to get too distracted by how handsome he looked.

"That seems to be the case." Sasuke held out a box of present, which I assumed was a greeting gift, and handed it to me. "Nice to meet you, neighbor."

I laughed upon hearing Sasuke calling me his neighbor because I found the whole situation very unbelievable. Sasuke also seemed to be trying to wrap his mind around the situation and for a second, I thought I saw him smile.

"I'll go greet the other neighbors. See you around." With that and a short wave, Sasuke left me with burning ears and cheeks all over again. I quickly went back into my apartment and closed the door behind me, making sure Sasuke wouldn't see how terribly blushed I was.

"Great, you're always acting like an idiot around him." With my back against the door, I sighed and tried to calm myself down.

But then if I were to think about it, how could my heart not flutter a little when I was around someone like Sasuke?

It was supposed to be normal, right?

Not knowing the answers to my own questions was definitely one of the most annoying things ever.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

Seriously, what could be the odds to have Sakura as my neighbor?

Even after greeting the other neighbors and going back into my new apartment, my mind was still trying to process the current situation at hand.

The girl I found interesting whom I talked to last night turns out to be my new neighbor. If I were to think that way, it was a coincidence I didn't mind encountering.

Though I made a mental note to myself to prepare for some chaos when Naruto found out about this. Knowing him, I was very sure he would do some of the most outrageous things.

I was about to start unpacking when my phone rang. I took it out from my pocket and sighed upon seeing who it was.

I rolled my eyes and picked it up anyways. Even if I ignored it, he would find a way or another to get in contact with me.

"What do you want, Itachi?"

"Is that the tone you're supposed to use on your older brother who is concerned about his foolish little brother?" I cursed under my breath and tightened the grip on my phone. Itachi never failed to annoy me even when he was doing nothing particularly irritating.

"Get to the point." It was never easy to read what was in Itachi's mind and that was one of the main reasons why he annoyed the hell out of me. I didn't like not being able to gain the upper hand on a situation and I never got it whenever Itachi was involved in the picture.

"I just want to know if you need any help." And another reason why Itachi was annoying was how he could say ridiculous things in one second and nice words in another. He was definitely someone I could never fully understand.

"I'm fine." I began opening the boxes I laid in front of me and was glad to see there weren't many things for me to unpack after all.

"That's good to know. Now that you're living alone, I want to give you some advice as your older brother." I grumbled upon hearing Itachi saying he wanted to give me one of his 'wonderful' advices. Nothing good ever came out from it.

"What?" I impatiently urged him to speak whatever nonsense he had in mind.

"Make sure to practice safe sex when you bring girls into your apartment. I'm still too young to be an uncle."

I knew it.

"Fuck off, Itachi." With that, I hung up on my older brother, shoved my phone back into my pocket and proceed to focusing on unpacking my things.

All the while trying to forget the very much appreciated advice from my dear brother which I was already clearly aware of.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"This is getting onto my nerves."

I had spent a whole six hours trying to digest weeks worth of lectures. Sometimes, I would wonder why I decided to attend medical school in the first place. There weren't any pressure from my parents and I was free to choose whatever I wanted.

But I went and become a medical undergraduate out of so many choices out there.

Not being able to understand myself gave me an even worse headache.

It was already almost 5 PM when I went to make myself a cup of tea at the kitchen. With the cup in one of my hands, I stood by the window and looked outside. With the sun still bright on the sky, the weather looked great that day.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my daydream and gave me a slight shock. I placed my cup on the dining table and went to see who could it be.

It turned out to be the new neighbor in the area, who looked slightly irritated in a way.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke?" I wasn't sure if I should feel nervous or worried or even both when I saw the visible annoyance in Sasuke's face. Nevertheless, he was still very attractive.

 _"Gosh, Sakura. Can your brain behave for once?"_

"Sorry for disturbing you but I need your help with something."

I blinked a few times in surprise when I heard the request for help. I might not know Sasuke very well, but based on what Naruto said, he hated asking for help from other people.

"Sure." I figured it must be something pretty serious for someone like Sasuke Uchiha to come over and ask for my help.

I entered into Sasuke's apartment, which happened to be the one on the right side of mine, and noticed that he had unpacked most of his things. And even though he just moved in a few hours ago, the whole place had a certain Uchiha feel.

I knew I didn't make much sense but it just felt that way. I guessed it could be due to the high amount of things which are blue in colored which without a doubt was Sasuke's favorite color.

And I didn't know his favorite color from stalking him. I just noticed he wore blue clothing a lot and a whole lot of his things are blue in color.

"What do you need help with?" I finally asked the question which had been in my mind since the time he came over to my apartment. I suddenly felt nervous when all Sasuke did was standing at his kitchen with his back facing me. He was just staring at the stove and not moving an inch.

I took a step forward and was going to call out to him when he finally turned around. With less annoyance in his face but with a hint of embarrassment, he finally spoke out his mysterious request.

"Can you teach me how to cook?"

I swore I would fall over and laugh if it weren't for the fact that I felt bad for Sasuke.

I guessed even the famous Uchiha himself had things he didn't know how to do. And I actually found it adorable in a way.

"Sure, Sasuke." I smiled at the man in front of me who, at that moment, looked like an embarrassed child.

Becoming neighbors with Sasuke was starting to seem more interesting than I initially thought. Not that I had any complains over that, of course.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

 _"Nice going, Sasuke. You humiliated yourself in front of a beautiful woman."_

The smile on Sakura's face was more than enough to make me feel more embarrassed of myself than I already was. I had never felt less uncool than I did at that moment.

I bought some ingredients from the nearby supermarket earlier on and came back to realize cooking was not as easy as Google told me it was.

Screw all those online 'easy recipes with the use of only 3 ingredients' trash.

"Why don't you order takeouts or eat outside though?" Sakura asked as she looked through the ingredients I bought. She was obviously thinking of what to make out of the available ingredients as she waited for an answer from me.

"I prefer to learn how to cook instead."

Technically speaking, I wasn't lying. But if I were to go into details, I was determined to cook on the first day I moved into my new apartment because of a stupid bet I made with Itachi a night before.

 ***Flashback***

I was doing some final packing in my room on the night before I moved into my new apartment when Itachi came in. And as usual, he didn't bother to knock. Not that I cared to remind him of that since he never listened anyway.

"What do you want?" I didn't turn to see who it was and knew it was Itachi. I could feel him standing by the door and stared at me like the annoying creep he was.

"Just wondering how will you survive on your own outside."

The mocking tone Itachi used was irritating but I chose to ignore him for now. I had enough on my hands trying to make sure I didn't leave out anything important while packing.

"I wonder how a dependent brat like you can survive living alone. You can't even cook an omelette."

I put down whatever was on my hands and stood up to look at Itachi in the eyes. I glared at him and said with all seriousness, "I'll prove to you that I can live on my own."

"How would you do that, foolish little brother of mine?" Itachi's smirk was grinding my gears and if it weren't for the fact that he was my brother, I would have sent a punch onto his gut.

"I'll cook my own dinner tomorrow. Just wait and see."

 ***Flashback***

And that was how my immature argument with my stupid older brother turned my first night in my new place into a disaster.

Of course, I wouldn't tell Sakura the real reason why I wanted to cook my own dinner that night. I had embarrassed myself enough in front of her to last a long while.

"We can make spaghetti and vegetable soup with these ingredients. Is that alright with you, Sasuke?" Sakura tied up her hair into a ponytail with a hairband she had around her wrist as she spoke.

"Hn. Sounds good." I walked to the kitchen counter and began doing whatever Sakura instructed me to do.

I was chopping some of the ingredients while Sakura started preparing for the spaghetti. Cooking was definitely not my field of expertise but it was surprisingly enjoyable with Sakura around.

"I'm actually not very good with cooking myself. But ever since I lived alone, I sort of forced myself to pick it up. Now I guess I am quite a decent chef." Sakura's laughter filled the kitchen and I found myself smiling a little as I listened to her. Most of the time, being with people as talkative as Sakura would have easily annoyed me.

I knew there was something different about Sakura but whatever it was, I had yet to find out.

"Now that we are neighbors, I guess we can learn cooking together from now onward. If you don't mind, that is." Sakura laughed nervously as if preparing herself for her preposition to be rejected by me.

"I'd like that."

And I honestly meant it.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

I must admit my heart skipped a beat when Sasuke agreed to my random blabber.

I honestly expected him to ignore me, staying quiet like how he was like most of the time. And to think he actually said he liked to learn cooking with me. It actually meant he wanted to spend time with me, right?

 _"Alright, Sakura. You're letting this get too deep into your head. You need to calm the hell down."_

My mind was running wild like an idiot but I knew better than to let it show. I made sure that Sasuke wouldn't see the crazy blush on my face and distracted myself by adding the final touches to the vegetable soup.

"Smells good."

It took my entire self-control not to squeal when I felt Sasuke standing right behind me. As he looked over my shoulder, I could feel his breath on my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

I was losing my mind over the smallest things and it was making me mad at myself.

I managed to act as natural as possible as I brought the food onto the dining table. From the way Sasuke was acting, it was safe to assume he had yet to notice how weird I was acting. And I couldn't be anymore glad.

Dinner went by smoothly and I found myself finally calming down. There was a relaxing atmosphere between Sasuke and I even though we just got to know each other. I never really expected Sasuke to be the type to talk over the dining table, but it felt nice knowing he was listening as I spoke.

And the shortest responses from him was more than enough to make me feel delighted.

"Thanks for today, Sakura." The sincerity behind Sasuke's words was warm and I couldn't stop a sheepish smile from appearing.

"No problem at all. I had fun! We should do this more often." I mentally cursed at myself right after I let that slipped out of my mouth. I was hoping really hard it didn't sound like I was overexcited to hang out with him.

"Hn."

It was crazy how Sasuke's lack of words was also capable of melting a part of me.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

After Sakura and I finished with the dishes, I walked her to the front door. It felt stupid but a part of me didn't want her to leave.

"Feel free to come to me if you need any anything." Hearing Sakura being true when she said that made me almost forgot how embarrassed I was when I first asked for her help.

I opened the door for Sakura only to have another surprise thrown onto my face. Literally thrown in this case.

I just opened the door when I felt a something hit my face. I was wincing in pain but was able to catch whatever was thrown towards me. I looked down and realized it was a cup of ramen.

Which immediately made me realize who my 'attacker' was.

"What was that for, dobe?" I always knew there was a loose screw in the blonde's head but sometimes I still couldn't understand the logic behind his actions.

"What's wrong with you, Naruto?!" Sakura yelled at the dobe before landing a punch onto his head. I found the scenario funny for some reason, especially when I saw Naruto cry out in pain. It seemed like Sakura had more strength than she appeared to have.

Naruto had a horrified look on his face when he finally noticed Sakura's presence. The brief moment of silence was replaced by Naruto's loud blabbering almost instantly.

"When I asked Sasuke to send me the address of his new place, I realized it was right next to Sakura's place. I'm worried about you, Sakura! I never knew Sasuke can be such a creepy stalker. To think he would go to this length to be close to you."

Both Sakura and I could only manage blank stares at Naruto who wasn't making any sense to us. I heard Sakura cursing under her breath while I tried to get to understand what Naruto was trying to imply by calling me a creepy stalker.

"What the hell are you saying, idiot? I only found out Sakura and I are neighbors earlier this morning." I crossed my arms in front of my chest and sighed at the ridiculous look on Naruto's already stupid face.

"That's right. Don't jump to crazy conclusions, Naruto." Sakura rolled her eyes and send another punch towards Naruto but on his stomach this time round.

Naruto quickly recovered from the pain before continuing his nonsense, "Then what are you doing in Sasuke's apartment, Sakura?! He didn't force you to do anything weird, did he?"

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Sakura turned bright red immediately upon hearing what Naruto said and sent another punch right into the idiot's gut.

I stayed out of the out-of-control fight between Sakura and Naruto, saving myself from putting more effort than I would like to. I just sighed at the scene in front of me and wondered how it was possible for me to think Naruto could be more dumb than I already thought he was.

My decision to move out and live on my own suddenly became much more interesting than I would ever imagine.

And truth be told, I was actually looking forward to it.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading chapter 2, everyone! As always, please leave a review on your way out. Reviews give me a better idea on what my dear readers think of the story and I definitely want to know how you feel about it so far. Of course, suggestions and ideas are very welcomed as well! Don't forget to click follow and favourite too. See you in the next chapter!


	3. The Nurse Next Door

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the great support, everyone! I know I should be studying for my finals right now but that's not going to stop me from writing chapter 3 (insert evil laughter). Enjoy!

Chapter 3: The Nurse Next Door

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"I heard you went through all the trouble of moving out of your house to get close to a girl. I didn't know you're the type to put so much effort for a girl, Uchiha."

"Sounds troublesome too. Not to mention how much of a creep you can be."

"Can the two of you just shut the fuck up?"

I snapped at Neji and Shikamaru who weren't able to keep their dumb comments to themselves. No matter how much I tried to explain the situation to them, they just wouldn't listen. They simply believed whatever was more 'interesting' to them.

At the end of the day, Naruto deserved most of the blame for the situation I was stuck in.

Not surprisingly, that big mouth of his managed to spread a screwed up rumour about me moving in next to Sakura to get close to her. The crazier thing was the fact that everyone just believed Naruto without even bothering to try and understand the whole picture.

"How is the app development going, Hyuuga?" Wanting to get away from the nonsense Naruto had caused me, I decided to bring up the business idea I was working on with Neji and Shikamaru.

"Not bad. It should be completed by next week." Neji spoke as he placed his things on a nearby empty table. He took his laptop out and was going through the progress of the app with Shikamaru and I.

A few months ago, I thought of an idea to create a business where people can get things delivered to them through an app. There were already a lot of food delivery apps in Tokyo but in a busy city like this, food wasn't the only thing people wanted delivered to them. The app I had in mind would allow people to order whatever could be bought and have them delivered to a specific destination. It could be food, grocery, stationery or even clothes.

Users of the app could also choose their preferred shop or location where they wanted their things to be bought from. Payment could either be made through credit card or cash upon delivery.

With this idea in mind, Neji was the first person I approached because I knew he was the best Computer Science undergraduate in his cohort. I had yet to meet any professor or classmate from his department that didn't say good things about Neji's abilities. He still could easily get on my nerve but the healthy rivalry between us kept me sane in an usual way.

And the fact that we knew each other since we were kids because our families were close friends sort of made me get used to him.

As for Shikamaru, I only got to know him a year ago but I definitely didn't miss the words of the wind about him being a genius strategist. He might actually be one of the laziest people I had ever meet but at the same time, he was definitely one of the smartest people I had ever known. With Shikamaru on board, I knew I could count on him on the marketing aspect.

The two of them were instantly sold when I first explained my idea and so far, I had yet to regret my decision to approach Neji and Shikamaru.

"It's going to be summer break in a month. It would be the perfect time for us to look for sponsors and to start recruiting staffs." Shikamaru showed up the list of people he believed could be our potential sponsors and even had their contact details ready.

To be honest, the sponsorship issues could be resolved instantly if we asked for the capital from our parents. But the three of us were against asking for financial support from our parents, agreeing that it would give us less sense of achievement at the end.

"Do you know who can we hire as our staffs? For a start-up company, I doubt we can afford to pay high salaries. Also, good service is essential in this business so it should also be people we can trust." Neji pointed out some things I had in mind lately and fortunately, I sort of had some suitable people in mind for us to hire.

"Leave the hiring of staffs to me." With that said, I left for my next class.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"Holy shit, Forehead! What did you do to make Sasuke Uchiha go through such lengths to chase you?" Ino was clinging onto my arm way harder than I was comfortable with as she sprout all those nonsense I had been hearing all day.

As if a Monday couldn't get any worse. It was all Naruto's fault.

"I think it's really sweet though." I would say Hinata said that because she was completely blinded by the idea of romance. I sighed and removed my arm from Ino by force before I glared at the two of them.

"Let me say this for the thousandth time." I took a deep breath before continuing. "It was a pure coincidence that Sasuke moved in next to my apartment. It's as simple as that so stop all these nonsense!"

Ino rolled her eyes at me while complaining about how boring I was while Hinata was just giggling at the murderous glare I was giving Ino. But of course, Ino wouldn't even flinch even if I did attempt to murder her and continued saying stupid things.

"But this is like super fun, Forehead! **The** Sasuke Uchiha is your neighbor and is living right beside you. He is ultra hot, ultra smart and ultra rich. He is like modern ultra-man!"

"Modern ultra-man? Can you get any lamer than that, Ino?" I turned around to the voice of Tenten who was laughing hard at Ino's dumb description of Sasuke. Even Hinata couldn't contain her laughter upon hearing what Ino said.

Ino, who was obviously too excited over the whole thing, ignored all the mocking and continued telling me about how 'lucky' I was.

"This is a great chance for you to get yourself a really ideal boyfriend. These opportunities don't come all the time, Forehead. You'll regret it if you don't act!"

I sighed and walked away, not bothering to respond to Ino. It was already 5 PM and I was done with my class for the day and wanted nothing but to go home.

I heard Ino yelling at me but I didn't look back. I wasn't sure if it was due to Ino's annoying voice or not but I was starting to have a headache. I didn't feel really well when I woke up this morning and the things I went though that day just made me feel worse.

As I walked to where I parked my car, I thought of how I wouldn't say I completely disagree with the things Ino said. I was aware of how great Sasuke was. And despite the fact he was quiet and expressionless most of the time, I could see he was kind at heart.

But naturally, someone as perfect as him must already have a girlfriend right? And whoever she was, she must be much better than me in all aspects.

The thought crushed me a little inside but I chose to ignore it for now. It wasn't like I stood a chance with someone like Sasuke so I shouldn't let Ino's words affect me too much.

I reached my apartment complex after a 10 minutes drive from campus and had just parked my car when I saw Sasuke with a girl. They were standing near the entrance of our apartment building. The girl was all over Sasuke, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his chest.

I could feel a weird ache in my heart at the sight of how intimate they were. I wasn't close enough to them to see the girl clearly so all I could see was that she has red hair and a pretty good body.

Not wanting to walk pass them, I decided to stay in the car until they left which effortlessly made me feel stupid. Much to my relief, the girl began to leave the apartment complex soon afterwards, but she did so after planting a kiss on Sasuke's cheek.

I was starting to be mad at how badly I was affected after what I saw. It shouldn't be affecting me at all in the first place.

I reminded myself not to be so stupid as to get upset over someone who clearly didn't belong to me.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

Karin was a pain in the ass, as always.

When the issue regarding the hiring of staffs came up, Karin was the first person to come up to my mind. She might be annoying and tried too hard to flirt with me all the time, I knew I could rely on her to do a good job. Moreover, she wasn't attending university and didn't have a stable job.

I met Karin back in high school when I had to collaborate with another school on a charity event. I was the representative from my high school and she represented the partner school. It was also through that event that I got to know Suigetsu and Jugo, whom I will recruit as staffs as well. As crazy as Suigetsu was, I also believed he could be trusted. And Jugo was definitely the most normal out of the three. And since the two of them were also not attending university and didn't have stable jobs, it was perfect.

Moreover, I helped them a lot during the event we held and they were sort of indebted to me in a way.

I went back to my apartment and poured some cold juice for myself. Summer was approaching and it was getting hotter outside. I took off my shirt and was just leaning against the kitchen counter when I heard a crashing sound coming from Sakura's apartment.

Without hesitation, I placed my glass on top of the kitchen counter and rushed to her apartment. Fortunately, I found the door to her apartment unlocked and I went in immediately.

I saw Sakura on the floor with a fallen chair beside her. Judging from the scenario, I assumed she was trying to reach for something on top of a nearby shelf when she lost her balance and fell from the chair she was using.

I helped Sakura up by holding onto her arm, only to realize that she had a high fever.

"Hey, Sakura. Are you alright?" I supported her by the shoulder to her couch and helped her settle down on it.

"I'm fine, thanks." Sakura didn't seem to be injured from the fall but that didn't mean she was feeling fine at all. I brought my hand over to her forehead to feel her temperature one more time and was convinced she had a high fever.

"You have a fever. You need medicine and plenty of rest." Seeing the state Sakura was in didn't make me feel less worried. She had a hand massaging her head, as if trying to get rid of a massive headache.

 _"Hang on. Worried? I didn't even know I was capable of being worried for someone else."_

I snapped out of my thoughts and focused on the current situation at hand. Without much consideration, I carried Sakura in my arms and brought her to bedroom.

No matter what she said, she was far from being fine.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"Hang on, what are you doing?!" My whole body felt weak and my head was trobbing badly so shouting definitely made me feel worse. But I couldn't hide my surprise when Sasuke suddenly carried me bridal style.

"You need to sleep." Sasuke's voice was stern with a hint of danger, which only made him sound even manlier.

 _"You're so sick right now and you are still drooling over Sasuke. How shameless can you be, Sakura? And oh my goodness, is Sasuke half naked?!"_

I could feel my face burning when I finally noticed Sasuke's lack of clothes. I could feel his strong chest against my body and the fact that he smelled really good didn't help me calm down.

"I-I can take care of myself." I tried to get out of a situation where I could possibly go crazy but Sasuke wasn't having any of it.

"I know you're in medical school and probably knows how to cure yourself more than I do. But that doesn't mean you don't need someone to take care of you when you're sick."

Sasuke gently laid me down onto my bed and covered me with the blanket. I used the blanket to try to hide my badly blushed face and hoped Sasuke would assume the redness was due to my fever instead of something else.

"Try to get some sleep. In the meantime, I'll prepare your dinner so you can take the medicine." Sasuke was about to leave the room when I suddenly realized what he had just said.

"Hang on, by 'prepare' do you mean you'll cook dinner?" Sasuke was great but I wasn't sure if he would survive in the kitchen on his own.

"Yes. Outside food is unhealthy and that's the last thing you need. Don't worry and just focus on getting some sleep."

I tried to stop Sasuke but he closed the door before I could say another word. I was seriously worried about him but at the same time, I was too weak to even get out of bed.

At the end, I surrendered and tried to fall asleep. But it wasn't easy with my heart pouding like mad because of the whole situation.

Before drifting off to sleep, I reminded myself that I shouldn't fall for Sasuke no matter what if I wanted to save myself from the pain that would come with it.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

This time round, Google was much more helpful than the first time I used it to search for recipes.

Though it took longer than it should, I managed to cook some decent porridge. It was nothing magnificent but it was edible at least. I also found some medicine from my apartment and brought it along with me to Sakura's place.

It was 8 PM when dinner was ready and I went into Sakura's bedroom to wake her up. She was sleeping soundly but I could see she was still feeling unwell. For a second, I was distracted by how beautiful she looked but quickly got it out of my head and went to gently tap Sakura on the shoulder to wake her up.

"Wake up, Sakura. Dinner is ready."

Sakura grunted a little as she began to wake up. I helped her up and she thanked me softly.

The next thing she said was definitely unexpected.

"Is the kitchen burnt down yet?"

If it wasn't for the fact that Sakura was sick, I would have gave her a piece of my mind.

"Yes, it turned into ashes."

My answer made Sakura laugh and once again, I was distracted by how beautiful she looked.

 _"Get a hold of yourself, Sasuke. Don't be a fool to get caught off guard so easily."_

"Thanks, Sasuke."

And with that, I did something I didn't do quite often. I smiled at the pink-haired woman who proved to be alluring in her own special way.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"Did you really prepare this, Sasuke?" I stared at Sasuke in disbelief after taking the first spoon of porridge. It definitely wasn't the best one I ever had but if Sasuke really did cook it, then it was considered very impressive.

"Yes, I did." Sasuke was obviously proud of his achievement and the arrogant smirk on his face made me laugh. Sasuke and I had dinner as we talked about how it was possible for Sasuke to cook an actual edible dinner.

Despite being very proud of himself, he remembered to give credits to the real mastermind behind the dinner; Google.

After taking my medicine, Sasuke made me go back to my room to rest. It was just 10 PM and was clearly too early for bed but Sasuke wasn't open for discussion regarding the matter.

"You need to sleep if you want to get better soon." Sasuke was getting annoyed by my constant complains about it being too early for bed. He looked like he was about to carry me back to my room for the second time that day but I avoided the embarrassment by quickly agreeing to go to sleep.

I got onto my bed with a sigh and covered myself with the blanket as Sasuke closed most of the lights in my bedroom. Much to my surprise, Sasuke sat on the chair by my desk instead of leaving. Sasuke spoke before I got to ask anything.

"I'll stay here until you fall asleep."

I blushed so deeply I could feel the heat radiating from my face. I was glad the lights were off and only the small night light was on so Sasuke wouldn't be able to see how ridiculous I looked. Knowing that nothing I said would make Sasuke change his mind, I decided to bask in my momentary happiness.

"Thanks for everything, Sasuke. Goodnight."

"Don't mention it. Goodnight, Sakura."

As I gave in to sleep, a part of me wished I could love Sasuke without being afraid of falling.

* * *

Author's Note: As always, remember to review, everyone! Your reviews make me really happy and I really appreciate every single one of them! Of course, don't forget to click follow and favorite as well. Thank you for reading and see you in the next chapter!


	4. The Crush Next Door

Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for the support and kind words! I am finally done with my last exam and hence, I am officially done with this semester. The air of freedom sure is sweet. Though I still have things to do, I do have much more time to write. So do look forward to more chapters! And of course, your great supports will definitely make me write more!

Chapter 4: The Crush Next Door

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

 _"Great. My car wouldn't turn on. That's definitely an ideal way of starting a morning when I am already running late in the first place."_

Despite the unbelievable fact that I live next to an incredibly hot and surprisingly nice man, life never failed to throw me lemons at the worst possible times. I overslept, which was something that rarely happened, and was going to be late for my lecture if I didn't get going right away.

And it was Tsunade's class where tardiness was not tolerated.

"What a pain in the ass." I grumbled angrily and was too preoccupied with cursing at my stupid car to notice Sasuke standing behind me. That was until he scared the hell out of me by speaking up.

"What's wrong?"

I yelped involuntarily and turned around to see Sasuke looking at my car, seemingly to have guessed it was broken down. I felt my ears burning when his dark eyes made contact with my green ones and I mentally scolded myself for being so weak whenever I was around Sasuke.

I took a deep breath as I tried to get out from my pointless thoughts and came up with a coherent answer to Sasuke's question without sounding ridiculous from the irritating nervousness.

"My car broke down and I'm already running late for class." I glared at my car as if it was able to get the idea that I was pissed off with it.

"Get into mine then. I'm going to campus as well. You can deal with your car later on in the evening." Without another word, Sasuke walked towards his car and I followed right after locking my pathetic car.

I got into Sasuke's car which was, without a doubt, much nicer than mine. Not only did it looked really new and fancy, it was organized and clean as well. It appeared perfect, just like its owner.

 _"Oh my goodness, Sakura. You sound like a creepy pervert."_

The first few minutes of the car ride was quiet, but that was to be expected. Instead of feeling awkward about it, it was actually relaxing in a way. I simply looked out from the window and admired the view in a way that I wasn't able to when I was the one driving.

"Why did you choose medical school?"

Sasuke's question came out of thin air and I was more surprised on the fact that Sasuke was the first one to break the silence. It just didn't seem to be his 'thing'. He looked like he would survive even when the world fell to complete silence.

However, back to the point, I was also shocked by his question. Mainly because it had always been a question I didn't know how to answer.

"I've been asked that a lot." I gave off what sounded like a nervous laugh as I tried to think of what to respond. Usually, I would say it was due to my interest in biology or it seemed fun. None of them were not answers from the heart though but most people would buy it and wouldn't ask further questions.

But when Sasuke was the one asking and I could sense seriousness behind his tone, I had a strong feeling that he genuinely wanted to know the answer. And with him, I knew better than to lie. He would see right through me and at the end, I would just embarrass myself from being caught lying.

"To be honest, I don't know." I felt like a certain weight was lifted from my heart. It was as if I had finally come to terms with the fact that I didn't have a proper motivation behind the things I was doing. And a part of me which I never knew existed wanted to change that.

I inhaled sharply as a way to prepare myself for Sasuke's judgement.

But his response was out of my expectation, throwing me off guard like he always did.

"That's alright."

It was that one simple phrase which sent warmth towards my pounding heart. And somehow, I felt comforted in a way which I thought was impossible to receive from the likes of Sasuke Uchiha.

I smiled at my own fuzzy feelings and decided to open up a little, "It's not alright. Blindly doing things without a purpose is never alright."

I sighed as I looked out through the window again, catching sight of a mother holding the hand of her young son. Both looking happy and content as they chatted under the sun. I wasn't expecting anymore words from Sasuke but it was as if he had planned to surprise me again and again that morning.

"I agree with what you said. However, when I said it's alright, I didn't mean it's fine to not have a purpose in what you do."

Sasuke's words made me turn to him from the window and I gave him a look as a way of asking him to explain what he had said.

"When I said it's alright, I meant to say that it's alright to not know what your purpose is now. But it's never too late to start looking for the missing puzzle."

The conversation we had in the car was proof that Sasuke still remembered the things I told him when we met at the party. My heart was stupidly jumping in happiness at that very thought. He remembered my insecurities, my confusions and how weirdly unhappy I was with my 'perfect' life.

His words shone a much needed light towards the direction I should take. He reminded me of the most fundamental things every person should have but I had failed to see it.

Another smile appeared on my face and once again, Sasuke made me feel like I could possibly fall for him.

"Thanks, Sasuke."

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

Giving a person a little push towards the right direction was definitely not an everyday thing that I did. I probably never did so in my entire life. But seeing Sakura so lost and confused made me naturally want to help her out.

It was a weird feeling of wanting to see her happier.

We parted ways once we reached school since she had to rush to her class. I watched her run off after a quick wave and I found myself watching her until she was completely out of sight. I rolled my eyes at how creepy I felt for doing so and wished nobody saw how stupid I looked.

But my wish was unfortunately not granted.

"Looks like the ice around a certain Uchiha's non-existant heart is melting."

I cursed at my luck when I heard the familiar voice of the most irritating Hyuuga I had ever had the pleasure of knowing. I turned around to find Neji and Shikamaru looking very much amused.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Not wanting to hear more nonsense from either of them, I walked pass them and was heading towards nowhere in particular. But of course, they decided to blindly follow me just to make my life a living hell.

"First you moved in next to her. Then you took care of her when she was sick. And now the two of you are coming to school together. I guess it won't be long until you guys will live together." Neji was not going easy on me and I could see that he was very much entertained by the situation I was in.

"But with you two living next to each other, moving in together won't be too troublesome." Shikamaru couldn't get rid of the smirk on his face and the expressions he made was suggestive beyond control.

I stopped in my track which made the other two do the same almost instantly. I turned to face them and gave what I believed was a murderous glare.

And not surprisingly, neither of them removed the annoying looks from their faces.

"First of all, like I had said for countless times, it is purely a coincidence that we live right next to each other. There is nothing between us so moving in together is out of the question. And I took care of her when she's sick because it was the right thing to do." I paused for a moment, trying to catch my breath since I wasn't used to speaking so much. "And how the hell did you guys know I took care of her when she was sick?"

"Some news can dangerously spread around like wildfire. It's troublesome but it's entertaining when it's not about you." Shikamaru had never been as annoying as he was at that very moment and I was surprised I had yet to break a bone or two of his.

"Come on, Sasuke. Stop lying to yourself. Are you sure you're not experiencing what most people would call 'falling in love'?"

Neji, despite how incredibly irksome he was, asked a question that struck me in an unexplained way. It made me think of things I was unfamiliar with and I hated having to deal with things I was not good at.

And the so called 'love' was a mystery that I had yet to understand.

But was I really 'falling' for Sakura? Truth be told, I wasn't sure at all.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"Sakura, can you come here for a moment?"

My heart skipped a beat out of fear when I heard Tsunade calling out my name after the class ended. I managed to get to the class just on time so I didn't know what to expect at all.

I secretly hoped I didn't fail an assignment or test. But then again, that had never happened and I was actually confident it never would.

I timidly walked over to Tsunade who was standing behind the lecturer's desk and she laughed when she saw me.

"Loosen up, Sakura. I'm not planning to gobble you up."

I felt embarrassed that she saw how scared I was but at the same time, I was convinced she wasn't going to be delivering bad news or anything of the sort.

"I called you out to ask if you will be free this Saturday to join a volunteering event I organized with some friends of mine. We will be going to an orphanage to give free medical checkup to children. We need some helpers and you're my best student so your name popped up to mind instantly."

Tsunade's smile was a contrast to her usual scary expressions. It wasn't the compliment which made me speechless, but it was the sincerity behind her words that did. I agreed almost too eagerly which wasn't left unnoticed by Tsunade.

"I would be more than happy to help!" I regretted a little right afterwards for being way louder than I needed to be. But it made Tsunade laugh so I guessed it wasn't too bad.

"Great! I'll send an email to you soon with more details. Thanks, Sakura."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sensei!"

I was halfway through the door when she suddenly said the sweetest thing I had ever heard from her.

"You have great potential, Sakura. You can do more than you believe."

With those words coming from the doctor I admired most in my life, I was beyond happy and grateful. Even though it felt like Tsunade had seen through her and saw the confusion behind her eyes, Sakura felt a certain warmth from her blonde lecturer that she had never felt before.

"I really appreciate that, Tsunade-sensei."

With that, I left the class with bursting excitement in my racing heart.

And I was so lost in my own world that I didn't notice that I had bumped right into Sasuke. I frantically apologized and stood up straight before I humiliated myself any further.

"Someone's having a good day." I laughed nervously at Sasuke's comment and hoped I didn't look too ridiculous with my overflowing excitement.

Sasuke smirked a little before speaking again, "Anyway, it's good timing I ran into you. I need to talk to you."

"Well, technically, I ran into you." I slapped my forehead after saying that without thinking. I was glad Sasuke found what I assumed was humor in my words because I was sure I saw a small smile on his face.

"I can't argue with that. I just want to ask if you want a ride back home. I'm going to leave at 5 PM after my class ends."

"Sure. My class ends at 4 PM but I don't mind killing time around campus with my friends for an hour if I get a free ride."

Sasuke smirked at my bluntness and I simply stopped trying to not embarrass myself in front of him.

"Let's stop by the supermarket on our way home. I need to get some groceries."

"Sure. Are you going to attempt to cook again?" I bit my lips to prevent myself from laughing because I knew it would annoy Sasuke.

"Yes. And you're welcome for a nice dinner tonight." I could see that Sasuke was trying hard to look like he had everything figured out for dinner and it was just too hilarious.

Sasuke, obviously not enjoying the fact that I was openly mocking him, rolled his eyes as he walked away.

"Quit laughing or else I'm going to leave you behind later on."

His 'threat' didn't scare me one bit because somehow, I knew he wouldn't leave without me.

I was staring towards the way Sasuke disappeared to even after he was out of sight. I was finally snapped out of my daydream when someone cleared her throat behind me.

I turned around to see Ino, Hinata and Tenten looking at me with mischief in their eyes. I knew what was going to happen and what they wanted to say so I was already mentally preparing myself right after I saw them.

"So now you guys are coming and leaving campus together? That's so cute!" Ino was squealing like an idiot, making me roll my eyes at her.

"And you two will even do some grocery shopping together, like a married couple!" Tenten's voice was becoming as loud as Ino's, attracting unwanted attention from passerby.

"You look good with Sasuke too." Even Hinata was joining in to the madness and I was almost driven mad.

I didn't bother explaining myself and turned to walk away towards my next class. No amount of explanation would stop those three from sprouting their nonsense.

"Before long, you'll find yourself falling heads over heels for Sasuke! Unless you already did."

Despite the increasing distance between me and the others, Ino's words were as clear as day. And I sighed before whispering softly under my breath.

"I'm afraid I'm starting to fall for him already."

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading chapter 4, everyone! I already have an idea for chapter 5 and I'm so excited to start writing it. Hopefully I will get to start working on it soon. Look forward to it! As usual, don't forget to leave a review because I truly appreciate the opinions from every single one of you. And remember to click follow and favorite before you leave! Have a nice day!


	5. The Feelings Next Door

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the support, everyone! I really appreciate it! Your reviews and encouragement mean a whole lot, seriously. Enjoy chapter 5!

Chapter 5: The Feelings Next Door

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"Can we watch something else?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

I had spent the last fifteen minutes trying to beg Sasuke to change into another movie but he insisted on continuing to watch his horror film. Apparently, he was a huge fan of paranormal movies and was refusing to watch anything other than that.

And why did I choose to stay after dinner to watch a movie I was absolutely terrified of? Well, because I was at a stage where I just wanted to spend time with Sasuke even though we were doing something I disliked a lot.

Yes, I was falling for him and chose to pretend I wasn't freaking out about it.

I closed my eyes throughout the first half an hour of the movie and would jump on my seat whenever someone in the movie screamed. It stayed that way for what felt like forever until the living room fell into complete silence suddenly.

I removed my hands from my face and looked at the television screen only to see that it was nothing but a black screen. I blinked in confusion for a moment before turning to face Sasuke, who had an unusual expression on his face. It was a mixture of guilt and a hint of amusement.

"Why did you turn the television off?" Knowing how much Sasuke loved horror movies, it was weird how he didn't watch it until the end.

"Because you're not enjoying it." Sasuke spoke as if whatever he said made perfect sense but in fact, it didn't to me.

"What do you mean?" I furrowed my brows as I waited for an answer from Sasuke, who looked like he wanted nothing but to get out from the conversation.

"I prefer to do things both of us like. It's more enjoyable that way."

My heart was pounding like mad upon hearing that and I was desperately hoping Sasuke wouldn't notice. If he did, I wouldn't know how to face him anymore.

"So, what do you like to do?" The pounding on my chest almost made me miss Sasuke's question and I was beyond glad I managed to catch what he was saying.

I pretended to think but was trying to calm myself down. After I made sure my expressions wouldn't give me away, I turned to Sasuke and answered, "I like going to shopping. We should go shop together."

"Don't you dare." Sasuke's glare made me laugh instead of scaring me off, which in turn annoyed him even more.

"What do you like to do? Besides watching horror movies and cooking." Sasuke's glare intensified when he noticed the indirect insult from me. It made me laugh louder than I should and was on the verge of falling off the sofa.

Sasuke decided to ignore his annoyance for the time being, "I like playing video games, strolling around, going on YouTube and sleeping."

"Sleeping? Seriously, Sasuke? Who in the world wouldn't like to sleep? I know I do." I sighed at his ridiculous answer which, of course, made him annoyed all over again. But instead of a glare, I saw a smirk on Sasuke's face instead, which gave me a bad feeling indeed.

"Since you like sleeping too, want to sleep together then?"

The best way to describe how I felt was, if there was a hole right in front of me, I wouldn't even hesitate for a second and just straight into it. Not because I hated what he said, but there was a crazy part of me who was going insane over what Sasuke had just said.

Just when Sasuke seemed to notice what he had said and I was beginning to notice the tips of his ears reddening, the door to Sasuke's apartment was unlocked.

Both of us were alert instantly, knowing that Sasuke lived alone and there shouldn't be anyone else who has a key to his apartment. Sasuke stood up from the sofa and watched the door intensely, as if preparing himself to knock out whoever was behind that door.

But when the door opened, I was surprised to see a handsome tall man.

And somehow, he looked a lot like Sasuke.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"What the hell are you doing here, Itachi? And how in the world do you have a key to my apartment?"

My glare towards my older brother did absolutely nothing to him and he continued pretending I wasn't speaking at all. His eyes went around the house before being fixated onto Sakura.

I had a horrible feeling as to what I felt was going to happen next.

"It seems like you're already having fun, little brother."

"Shut your trap, Itachi."

And, not surprisingly, Itachi ignored me once again and walked towards Sakura, who was pretty much confused over the situation in front of her.

"Hi, I'm Itachi Uchiha." Itachi held out his hand towards Sakura for a handshake. "I'm the older brother of this brat over here."

I rolled my eyes and gave up trying to stop Itachi from sprouting his never-ending nonsense. Sakura politely smiled and introduced herself to Itachi despite her apparent confusion.

"I'm Sakura Haruno and I'm attending the same university as Sasuke."

"I hope my brother didn't force you to do anything against your will. He can be quite aggressive and selfish at times." Itachi's pointless 'concerns' was driving me mad and I wanted nothing more but to punch him right at his dumb face.

Before I could defend myself, Sakura was already helping me explain things to Itachi. Though it turned out she could have made the whole situation slightly worse.

"I'm sure Sasuke's not that sort of person! He does have things he like that I don't, but he's nice enough to not make me do it if I don't enjoy it."

With that said, I was basically doomed. Technically, with what just happened earlier, what Sakura said made perfect sense. But in Itachi's perspective, what she said meant a completely different thing.

Itachi stood in silence for a few moments, as if trying to play back Sakura's words to make sure he heard what he did. He glanced over at me with a straight face before it turned into an evil smirk.

I hated my brother so much sometimes.

He turned back to Sakura, but his stupid expression was changed into what I named his 'deceiving smile'.

"That's sweet of Sasuke. Feel free to tell me if he is treating you badly. I'll make sure he'll be taught a lesson."

" _I'm going to murder Itachi after this."_

Not wanting to embarrass and confuse Sakura any further, I decided to wait until later to clear things up with Itachi. Though I knew he wasn't going to listen and would choose to believe what he wanted to believe.

"It's getting late so I'll get going now." Sakura politely bowed to Itachi, which he didn't deserve in my opinion at least.

"It is pretty late. Sasuke, shouldn't you take her home?" Itachi looked over at me disapprovingly, as if he was looking at a sorry excuse for a human being.

"It's alright! I actually live next door." Sakura let out what seemed to be a nervous laughter before quickly excusing herself again.

Once Sakura had left the apartment, I no longer had to pretend I could stand my brother because I simply couldn't.

"How the fuck did you get the keys to my apartment?" I asked the question Itachi had been avoiding and was hoping he would just give me an answer.

But being the annoying trash he was, he didn't even bother to respond to what I asked.

"You just moved into your new place and is already hooking up with your neighbour? You're better than I thought, little brother."

I clenched my fists and was trying my best to use reasons on him, though I really would prefer to break a bone or two of his.

"We're just friends. I don't sleep around like you." I glared at Itachi who started to walk around the apartment before taking a seat on the couch.

"She's just a friend and you're already making her do things she doesn't enjoy? You're nasty, Sasuke."

I thought Itachi would have forgotten what Sakura said but who was I kidding. He wouldn't forget things that would put me in difficult positions even if he had amnesia.

I didn't explain myself because I knew he wouldn't listen so I asked him the question he had not answered me once again.

"Can you just bloody tell me how you get the key to my apartment?"

Itachi was browsing through the channels on the television as he finally gave me an answer.

"I have my own way of getting what I want."

And of course, I shouldn't have expected a proper one.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

It was barely five minutes after I went back to my apartment when the doorbell rang. I opened it to find Ino and Tenten at the other side of the door.

"Sleep over!" Ino declared with her high-pitched voice without bothering to say hello first. She barged into my apartment with Tenten skipping behind her like two carefree beings without a worry about the world.

"What is this about?" It wasn't the first time Ino and Tenten would come over to my place uninvited and have an impromptu sleepover but I asked anyways.

"It's Friday night and it's been a long time since we had a sleepover so here we are!" Ino was squealing like the hyperactive woman she was while Tenten went to the kitchen for a cup of water. "And we must talk about you and Sasuke."

"Get off my back, Ino. I told you there's nothing between us." I rolled my eyes and went to where Tenten was to grab myself a cup of water as well.

"Come on, that's such a big lie." Tenten smacked my arm and apologized quickly when she was aware that she almost made me spill my drink.

I sighed before glaring at my two nosy friends, "There is seriously nothing between us, alright? And we just knew each other."

"Time is never an issue." Ino placed her hands on both sides of her hips, doing her typical confident pose as she started giving one of her 'wise' speeches. "If two people are meant to be together, they will get together even though they just knew each other."

"That's right." Tenten chimed in as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "And we can see sparks flying in your eyes whenever you laid eyes on that Uchiha."

I walked away from the two of them and went to take a seat at the sofa. I went through the channels on the television to distract myself but it didn't do any good.

Ino and Tenten sat on either side of me and both purposely squeezed towards my way.

"Don't try to fool us, Sakura. We know you like him." Despite the playfulness in the air, I could sense the seriousness in Tenten's tone. I was aware that Ino and Tenten weren't just being playfully nosy, but they were sincere and wanted to hear me out.

There really weren't any valid reason for me to continue lying to them.

"Even if I do like him, there is just no way he would like me back." I let a sigh escape me after confessing to Ino and Tenten, who were literally jumping around like a bunch of mad women after hearing what they wanted me to say.

"You finally admit it, Forehead! About time you do." Ino was laughing while being all excited and I wasn't even sure how to describe the state she was in.

"And seriously, Sakura, what makes you think he won't like you back?" Tenten rolled her eyes as if what I said was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

"Because he's way too great to be true?" I cringed a little over what I said but it went unnoticed by Ino and Tenten.

"And you're not?" Ino pulled me up from the couch and made me look straight into her blue eyes. "You seriously should have more confidence in yourself, Forehead. You're way better than you thought you are."

"That's right." Tenten playfully smack me on the shoulder and was grinning widely. "You shouldn't think you're inferior compared to Sasuke, you know!"

"Thanks, guys." I pulled Ino and Tenten into a group hug, which felt warmer than it usually did. We stayed there for a few moments, just appreciating one another's presence.

Ino was the first to pull away and with a devilish grin on her face, was looking straight to my eyes with determination.

"And now we shall start our mission to get you together with your dream man!" Ino's laughter was a mix of excitement and an obvious hint of evilness. "You should ask him out for a meal tomorrow!"

"What?!" I wasn't planning to do anything yet and had yet to build up enough courage to act. "I need to help Tsunade-sensei with something tomorrow so I won't be free."

Technically, I would only be helping Tsunade until the afternoon so I would be free afterwards.

"But wouldn't it only last until the afternoon?" Ino narrowed her eyes at me with suspicion and I mentally scolded myself for having to forget that I have told Ino about it.

"Stop coming up with excuses, Sakura! Just message him now and ask if he wants to have dinner tomorrow." Tenten grabbed my phone and handed it to me.

"Or even better, go next door and ask him in person." Ino was having way too much fun and she was obviously liking it.

"No way. His older brother is probably still there." I stared at my phone as I considered whether I should really ask him out or not.

"Is his older brother also a huge hottie?" Ino's eyes were sparkling with anticipation as she asked a question I expected her to ask.

"He is hot but I definitely don't know if he is huge or not." I brought out the perverted side of me which was not foreign for Ino and Tenten.

"You pervert!" Ino pretended to be disgusted by my words but her act failed almost instantly and she ended up laughing hysterically.

Tenten joined in the laughing spree before trying to get everyone back to the main topic, "Text him, Sakura! Hang on, how did you know his brother is there though?"

"Because I was having dinner over at Sasuke's place earlier." I received smirks from Ino and Tenten for the answer I gave them but I was getting used to all the teasing by then. "Anyways, wouldn't he find it weird that I am asking him out for dinner? I mean, it is less suspicious if I just ask if he wants to cook together or not."

"Stop thinking so much, will you?! We want things to be suspicious so he will be aware of your feelings, you stupid Forehead!" Ino pinched my cheeks as if trying to snap me out from overthinking.

"Alright, alright!" Once Ino let go of me, I opened my phone and began my struggle of typing out a message for Sasuke. Wanting to just get things over with, I quickly typed out something which seemed to be not too creepy or weird.

 _Sakura: Hey, are you free tomorrow night?_

I waited for a reply with a nervous pounding heart. Ino and Tenten were looking at my screen over my shoulder with me.

The three of us jumped a little when we saw that Sasuke was typing something.

 _Sasuke: Yeah, sup?_

I immediately spaced out and was staring blankly at my phone.

"Hurry up and reply! Are you waiting till you turn 40 or something?!" Ino was almost screaming at my ears and I quickly start typing to shut her up.

 _Sakura: Just wondering if you're interested to go to a nearby new restaurant with me? It's walking distance from our place._

 _Sasuke: Sure. See you tomorrow._

"Oh my goodness. What did I just do?" My words were almost a whisper but wasn't left unheard by Ino and Tenten.

"You just asked **the** Sasuke Uchiha out on a date! I'm so proud of you, Forehead!" Ino was being her overexcited self as I stood frozen in place, not believing what I had just done.

But to be completely honest, I was glad I did what I did.

Because Sasuke was quickly becoming a person worth fighting for.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Remember to review and click the follow and favourite button as well! Would really appreciate it! Thanks and see you in the next chapter, everyone!


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